This podcast was an absolute pleasure. Barry Ord Clark was the 2021 Fly Tyer of the Year and for good reason.  Often referred to as The Feather Bender, Barry has a passion for teaching fly tying and giving back to the fly tying community.  He has a huge fly tying channel on YouTube and a wonderful book, The Feather Bender’s Fly Tying Techniques.

In this episode, we learn about his origins near Manchester, England, what motivated him to move to Norway and some fantastic tips and trick that will make you a better fly tyer.

If you would like to meet Barry, and possibly get a signed copy of his book, he will be at The International Fly Tying Symposium in Somerset, NJ on November 11-12, 2023.

Speaking of the shows, in addition to the symposium, are you going to any of The Fly Fishing Shows this winter?

We kick on in Marlboro, MA which is the Boston show on January 5, and that’s a 3 day show. Then on to Denver, Colorado on Jan 19. From there we come back east to Edison, NJ which is like the tri-state show of New Your, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  We also get a lot of people who come down from Connecticut and up from Delaware and Maryland. A good contingency comes from overseas as well.

After Edison we head to Atlanta from Feb 5-7. We are back in the pacific northwest for the Bellevue, Washington show, which is outside of Seattle. That’s a two-day show on Feb 17-18.

From there, we head down the coast to the bay area show in Pleasanton, CA from Feb 23-25. I love this show because it’s an indoor outdoor show at the Alameda County Fairgrounds.

We finish back east in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on March 2 and 3. 

The show season is a blast. Please come out, we would love to see you.  I feel fly fishing is a big, wonderful community of friends and these shows are like a giant reunion of friends. There is not a better place to find so much fly fishing knowledge and information under one roof.

There is so much to do, learn and experience. You can find all the details at flyfishingshow.com. 

I will be live podcasting at all seven shows. If we have met, please come by the booth and say hello. If I have not had a chance to meet you, please come to the booth and say hi. I always love the chance to get to know our listeners and connect with our every growing community.

Enjoy this episode with Barry and stay tuned as we have many more episodes coming for you soon…

thefeatherbender.com
flyfishingjourneys.com/travel

Thanks to our sponsors:

crosscurrentinsurance.com
flyfishingshow.com
www.nor-vise.com

Episode Content

[04.27] Fly Tyer of the Year – Starting the conversation, Barry shares what he thinks about getting Fly Tyer magazine’s annual Fly Tyer of the Year.

[10.32] Teaching – Barry explains why teaching others fly tying is the most enjoyable aspect of fly tying.

[14.28] The dedication – The powerful dedication about Barry’s father in his book, The Feather Bender’s Flytying Techniques: A Comprehensive Guide to Classic and Modern Trout Flies.

[22.00] Mark Pettijohn – Barry explains his friendship with Mark Pettijohn.

[27.14] Norway – Barry shares the story behind moving to Norway with his entire family.

[34.1] Scotland – Barry talks about the fishing conditions in Scotland due to the pollution after the water companies were privatized.